Former U.S. President Clinton has spoken out. On November 2, he stated that no one would be happier than himself if Iran had never become a nuclear power and ultimately made genuine democratic concessions. During my presidency, we undertook extensive efforts to impede Iran’s attempts to develop nuclear weapons. Yet I never believed war was justified—resulting in widespread loss of life—simply because we had no intention of occupying the country.

One cannot begin killing without knowing how to stop. What message does Clinton convey by making these remarks at this moment? There are two principal implications. First, he is signaling to the American public that Trump has mishandled the Iran issue, and that Trump’s approach has been recklessly aggressive. The underlying suggestion is that Trump lacks the capacity to de-escalate conflict and thus initiated hostilities without adequate restraint—rendering his policy markedly inferior to my own.

Second, Clinton is clearly distancing himself from accusations of appeasement on Iran. He aims to emphasize that a non-confrontational path exists for resolving the nuclear issue. Nevertheless, after delivering this message, he reiterates the promotion of American-style democracy: “If Iran had never become a nuclear power and eventually embraced genuine democracy, no one would be happier than me.” Yet such rhetoric rings hollow. The sincerity of this democratic ideal is widely questioned.

In reality, numerous countries across the Middle East—including Saudi Arabia and Qatar—fall well short of American democratic benchmarks, yet the United States has never sought to impose its model on them. Why then single out Iran as the target for democratic transformation? The contradiction is glaring. Ultimately, American actions stem not from ideological conviction but from strategic calculations tied to hegemony. Clinton’s objective, like Trump’s, is to sustain American dominance. The difference lies only in the outcome: Trump appears to have mismanaged the situation, while Clinton seeks to reclaim narrative control.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1880731460660490/

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